WHEN Rhys Power signed up as coach of CSU for the 2020 Mid West League competition, he was looking forward to guiding a new group of Mungoes.
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But as it turns out, his squad includes some older Mungoes too.
If the Mid West League - currently on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic - is to go ahead this year it will be a reunion of sorts at the CSU club.
"We have a few old fellas who I used to play with come back. As soon as they found out I was coaching they decided to come back, which is pretty handy," Power said.
"Phil Thurgood, he was my first coach when I first moved to Bathurst. Now we both work up at the high school and are pretty good mates, so he was like 'Yeah, I'll play.'
"He's absolutely devastated because he was loving it.
"Then we had Pat McGarry, he came across from Panthers. Jim Shepherd came back from Orange. I've had a mate from Cobar, Zac Douglas, he signed, I think Manildra released him.
"We have got a fair few returners, but we have eight or nine new blokes that fit straight into the run-on side, which isn't too bad."
McGarry played alongside Power in the 2013 Mungoes outfit which went down to the dominant Kandos Waratahs outfit in the grand final.
Back then the second rower McGarry was one of the longest-serving Mungoes, having made his debut for CSU in 2007.
He won a Tertiary League second grade premiership, but sat out the 2012 Mid West season when CSU Blue beat Lithgow Bears in the grand final.
During his first three-year stint with the Mungoes where he in the main played in the back row, Thurgood represented his country when selected for the Australian Tertiary League side.
Thurgood also spent time with Bathurst Panthers and CSU's rugby union team, while he had another season with the Mungoes in 2015 when lining up for CSU Yellow.
Douglas also bring plenty of experience to CSU, his league resume includes touring Europe with the Australian Institute of Sport squad in 2009.
As for Power, if the 2020 season does get under way he will solely focus on coaching. Injuries mean he will not play.
"I didn't play much footy after I left the Mungoes. The last year I played, I think I played three games for Pat's and tore my hamstring. Then I was playing a bit of basketball and did my shoulder real bad," he said.
"So I was never going to play this year, I've got busted shoulders nowadays.
"But I've always had a little bit of involvement with the boys and they were looking for someone to not play but just coach and run the bench - a bit more of a mentor type role."
